Formed by Nokia and Siemens in 2007, Nokia Siemens is in the middle of a cost-cutting plan, which includes laying off a quarter of its staff and selling product lines to focus on mobile broadband.

Ericsson, the world's top mobile network infrastructure supplier, was reported to be the front runner to buy the unit, which provides billing and charging systems for telecoms operators.

Suri declined to provide details on how many companies Nokia Siemens was talking to regarding the sale and did not comment on whether it was in talks with Ericsson. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy;Editing by Sunil Nair)